COURSE INFORMATION
Course Title: Construction Materials and
Equipment
Course Code : (CENG-2081)
Contact hrs.: 2hr Lecture & 3hrs Lab
Academic Year: 2025/26
Credit Hrs.: 3hrs
Pre-requisite:- None
BY: Hunde Hailu( MSc.)
CHAPTER ONE
STONES BRICKS CONCRETE BLOCKS
[Link]
Materials and types
• Material: a substance or thing from which some thing else
can be made. Examples: Cement,brick,aluminium,soil,water…
•InEngineering, materials are employed to design and build
structures or elements.
•MaterialEngineering refers to the understanding and review of
properties and uses of materials commonly used in engineering
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Material Types
Amorphous Materials:
Materials in which atoms are arranged randomly.
or those that do not have crystalline structure.
Are strong but brittle
Examples: soot(impure carbon),glass
Crystalline materials can be converted in to an amorphous
material by quenching.
i.e. heating the material to its melting temperature followed by
rapid cooling so that the material has no time to return to its
crystalline arrangement
Brittle Materials: Brittleness denotes relatively little or no
elongation or increase in length at fracture.
Examples: cast iron
concrete
Glass…
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Building Materials: Materials that are used in the building
industry such as cement, steel ,brick,plastics,wood,glass
Cementitious materials: Materials in which the principal binder
is Portland cement or another type of hydraulic cements .
Ceramic Materials:
…The word ceramic comes from Greek, meaning “burned
earth”.
…ceramic materials are nonmetallic materials based on
clay(silicate mineral)
…They are usually crystalline and brittle ,do not conduct
electricity very well ,and can withstand high temperatures.
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Construction Materials: any material used in construction
industry.
Examples: cement ,soil, aggregates, asphalt, etc.
Ductile Materials:
Ductility is the property that makes the material to be drawn
out or stretched to a considerable extent before rupture.
It is usually measured as the percentage of elongation
(increase in length) or as the percentage of the reduction
in the cross-sectional area ,when the material is
subjected to tension.
Examples :steel ,aluminum etc
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Elastic Materials:
Elasticity is the ability of a material to deform under load without a
permanent set or deformation up on release of the load.
It can also be defined as that property of material by virtue of which
deformations from the a load or stress disappear after removal of the
load.
A perfectly elastic material recover completely its original shape and
dimensions when loads are removed.
None of the materials remain perfectly elastic throughout the range
of stress leading up to failure.
But all exhibit elastic properties up to some stress level.
An elastic material behaves in elastically when the stresses exceeds
the elastic limit, beyond which changes in volume ,shape are
permanent.
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Crystalline materials: Materials in which atoms are
arranged in a discernible repeated pattern in three
dimensions.
Thermoplastic Materials: Materials that turn plastic
(soft)when subjected to heat. e.g. petroleum pitch
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[Link] & Properties of Materials
2.1 Classification of Materials
Materials that are used for construction purpose can be
broadly classified based on their:
Metallic Property
Physical nature
Mode of production
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Classification Based on Metallic Property
[Link] : in general metals can be classified in to :Ferrous
and Non-ferrous.
a. Ferrous: is the metal in which the principal element is iron.
Examples:steel,wrought iron & cast iron
b. Non-ferrous : is the metal in which the principal element is
not iron
Examples: copper,aluminium,lead,zinc,etc
[Link] metallic:
Examples;concrete,timber,stone,lime etc.
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Classification Based on Physical Nature of Materials
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Classification Based on Mode of Production
a) Naturally Occurring Materials
Stone
Timber
Soil
Aggregate
b) Industrially produced materials
Cement
Glass
C) Materials produced at construction site
Concrete
mortar
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The rock cycle
Tests on stones
There are various tests on building stones to
know its properties and suitability for various
construction works.
Tests on building stones provides physical
and chemical properties as well as strength
and hardness properties.
Tests on stones
1. Acid test
2. Attrition test
3. Crushing test
4. Crystalline test
5. Freezing and thawing test
6. Hardness Test
7. Impact test
8. Water absorption test
9. Microscopic Test
10. Smith’s Test
GENERAL TYPES OF STONE USED IN ETHIOPIA
• Stone which does, in general, satisfy the foregoing
requirements and which is commonly used for construction in
Ethiopia include: basalt, trachyte, granite, limestone, marble,
sandstone, ignimbrite, pumice, and scoria.
• Basalt and trachyte are very common in Ethiopia and are
mostly used for stone masonry work and as boulders or
crushed stone for road construction and crushed aggregate for
concrete making.
GENERAL TYPES OF STONE USED IN ETHIOPIA
• Granite is generally hard, strong, durable, and capable of taking
a high polish. Granite has a wide variety of use in building,
including flooring, interior and exterior facing, stair trades and
skirting.
• Owing to its beautiful colors and durability marble is used as
wall cladding material, floor finishing and window sill.
GENERAL TYPES OF STONE USED IN ETHIOPIA
• Sandstone, and ignimbrite: are widely used for decorative
purpose. Ambo sand stone is a typical example in this aspect.
• Pumice and scoria: are found in large quantities in the rift
valley .they are widely used in the manufacture of light weight
concrete block. Owing to its light weight concrete made of
pumice is used for forming slopes on flat concrete roofs.
Pumice is also used for production of Portland pozzolana
cement.
